Metal cap



March 16 1926. 1,577,022

l C. HAMMER METAL CAP F'iled Jan. 17, 1924 INVENTOR PtentedivMari 16, 1926.

UNITED s'iA'ies PATEN i'. OFFICE.

l CHARLES HAMMER, F HOLLIS COURT BOULEVARD, NEW YORK.

METAL clin; p

Application med January i7, i924. serial no. 686,708.

l To all it concern.'

A vented certain new and useful Improvey ments in Metal Caps, of which thefollowing is a specification. t n Y V This invention relates to caps, particularly metal caps for containers, such as glass containers, particularly catchup bottles, the object of the invention being-to provide an improved metal cap which can be made of relatively thin sheet metal and readily attached and easily removed by thepuse of a coin, and which capiis of simple construction, easily manufactured, inexpensively produced and eiicient in use, and which can be readily snapped on for reuse.

`In the drawings accompanying and f orming a part of this specification, Fig/1 illustrates a glass container in the form of a catchup bottle having this improved cap applied thereto, which latter is shown in section; Fig. 2 is a side view of the cap applied to a bottle; and Fig. 3 is an enlarged section of theupper portion of the bottle and of r:this improved cap.

Similar characters of oreference indicate corresponding parts in the severalviews. Before explaining in detail the present improvement and mode of operation thereof, I desire yto have it understood that the invention is not limited to the particular character or size of cap herein shown or to details of construction and arrangementof parts which are illustrated in the accompan ing drawings, since the invention is ca` pab e of other embodiments and applicable to other kinds of caps, and therefore the phraseology which I employ isfor the purpose of description and not of limitation.

The glass container in the present instance is shown as a catchup bottle 2 having spaced skirt is of less depth, the cap may be madel .shoulders 3 and 4. The mouth of the bottle has a shouldered lip 5 and is adaptedto be sealed by a suitable sealing disk or liner (i,k

which may be in the form of a disk of cork located within the cap. This improved bottle however forms the subject matter of a separate application iled herewith, Serial No. 686,707 iled January 17, 1924. a.

This improved cap in the present instance is shown as a two-piece' cap, although in some forms thereof, particularly when the in lone. piece. As shownthe top thereof comprises a diskl l7 .seamed or interlocked with a depending seamed skirt: or flange `8` which may have corrugations ifdesired tot so assist in the manipulation of the cap as well as to strengthen the skirt of the same.A The depending skirt which may be of any suitable depth, is inthe present instance shown of that depth which particularly adapts it 35` for use as a catchup cap vand therefore the flange is shown as having a depth usually las great as the diameter ofthe ca'p. The

lower edge of the flange is bent upon itself 1,577,022 if y to form a curled, rolled, beaded or stilfened 7o A lower edge l0 Lfrequently called in this art a wire edge, although no wire is therein. Above this rolled or beaded edge the unstift'ened metal of the. skirt is inset or impressed as at V11 around the cap -to form an 75 pping the annularl holding bead underla shoulder 3 of the container. This insetting is done in theiirst instancejwhen the bottle is sealed by a suitable machine, whereupon theL container is leflciently sealed. Iir the hands of the user however, the cap can be readily removed or pried oil'` by the insertion of a coin as 12 iinderthe rolled edge and between it and the shoulder l ofthe container,

whereupon the cap can be easily pried off. 88

cated above the lower strengthened or rolled edge of the cap but ad]acent thereto, this holding means being in the form of an an` nular impressed bead entirely independent of-the rolled edge of the cap and Jformed om any threads or holding 9o from 'the unstiflened metal of the skirt itself 100 above and free of the stifened so that the bending inward of the skirt will not disturb or ailect such rolled edge; Thus the cap comprises in the present instance an\ or rolled edge annular holdin bead located above an :in-"

nular outturn rolled edgeftheskirt metal between the two beads Haring outward as at 13, whereby a. coin may be readily inserted`I and leverage used against .the curled edge and lower Shoud the fulcrum for the coin, to pry off the cap.

Thus while the annular bead and the outder 4, the shoulder-forming {iai-in part 13 that the action of one is not` k inter ered with by the other `and yet both j is made of thin metal.

are located at the lower portion of the cap, thus leaving the entire inner surface of the cap from near the lower edge thereof to the top free of any inward holding pro'ections', threads or other means to become filled up and corroded by the bottle contents.

Thus by means of the present improvement I am able to provide a cap which can be readily made without the Ause of threads or other similar holding means, and in which the lower edge of the cap can be strengthened by means of a rolled or curled portion, which makes the cap sanitary and free from certain disadvantages present in a raw or free edge cap. By means of the rolled edge f' the cap can be removed by the use of a coin, since this rolled edge so strengthens or stiliens the lower edge of the cap that a coin may abe` used to engage this lower strengthened edge to pry olf the cap without mutilation or destruction to the edge, although the cap The annular holding portion of the cap is so located that the inpressing thereof to secure it to the bottle will not be interfered with by the reinforced lower edge or be injured by any implement used to pry olf the cap. Moreover the metal above the curled edge can he inpressed more readily than is possible withvthe rolled edge which, because of its stiifened formation, `resists such inward pressure .and also resists the prying off of the cap. Consequently the present cap can be more easily removedb the use of a coin as the unstilfened annular ead 11 will yield more quickly than would the stiened lower edge were this'bent under the container shoulder.

Most catchup caps heretofore devised have usually been provided with threads requiring the glass neck of the bottle to be similarly formed and there are certain disadvantages in such constructions other than those already pointed out, among which are the expense of forming the caps with threads as we as the bottle, and the time required to turn the cap on and oil, all of which are material factors in the manufacture and quick handling of devices of this kind. `Aside from this, the ordinary threaded catchup cap'requires a separate sealing medium for the bottle usually in the form of a separate, cap or cork, which the present vimproved cap does away with, thus enabling this cap to not only take the place of two but to be made at much less ex nse, to be more easily handled and more quickly applied, as well as removed, and also more efficiently used.

It will be seen from the foregoing that this improved catchup cap has the straight side walls of its skirt terminating at,\ts

outwardly bent or flaring wall forming an annular holding bead, and that the out,-

turned wall terminates in a rolled or beaded edge not only adjacent to but practically extending into or terminating in the recess formed by said bent walls, so that the rolled or beaded edge and the holding means or bead of rthe cap are both located at the extreme lower edge of the cap and cooperate as hereinbefore stated, to reinforce each other without however, either interfering with the action of the other, and this double reinforcement of one above the other enables the cap to be pried olf without the mutilation or destruction of the straight sidewalls of the cap.

Thus I have provided an improved cap comprising a top and a depending skirt having a curled or rolled lower edge thus materially simplifying and reducing the cost of manufacture thereof. The cap is merely Iplaced on the bottle and by a' suitable ma` chine the metal-above the rolled edge is inset under the shoulder of the container, whereby the cap is eiliciently held on to the bottle. Subsequently the purchaser of the sealed package can by the use of a mere coin quickly pry oil" the cap, and when it is desired to reseal the bottle the cap can be readily snapped on. Thus, I believe I have provided the most inexpensive, easiest handled and applied catcliup cap that has so far been devised, free of any objections heretofore present in catchup caps.

n is to be understood that by describing in detail herein any particular form, structure, or arrangement, it is not intended to limit the invention beyond the terms of the several claims or the requirements of the prior` art.

Having thus e lained the nature of my said invention an described a way of constructing and using the same, although without attempting to set fort-h all of the forms in which it may be made, or all of the modes n of its use, I claim:

1. A pry-off and reusable metal cap comprising a top and a long depending skirt forming a catsup cap, said .skirt having in proximity to its lower edge two inwardly projecting walls forming a holdin portion foi-med in the cap while the cap 1s on the container and functioning under the shoulder of the container as the sole holding element of thecap, the lower inwardly projecting wall terminating at its lower edge' in al curled or. reinforced portion spaced from said holdin portion whereby a coin may be inserted or prying ofi' the cap and thereafter the cap readily snapped on, said skirt having a smooth and unbroken surface from its top to its holding portion.

2. A pry-0E and reusable metal cap 'comprising a top and a depending skirt having in proximity to its lower edge two annular inwardly projecting wallsl forming an annular holding bead formed in the cap while the cap is on the container and functioning under the shoulder vof the container as the sole`holding element of the cap, the lower inwardly projecting wall terminating at its lower edge in a curledor reinforced portion spaced from vsaid holding. bead whereby a coin lmay be inserted for prying 0H theap and thereafter the cap readilyA snapped on, said skirt having a smooth and unbroken surface from its top to`its holding bead and having a length at least suby Stantially as great as'its diameter.

v3. A two-piece pry-off and reusable metal cap comprising a top and a dependin skirt interlocked therewith and having -a ength at least substantially as great as its diameter and having in proximity to its lower' edge two annular inwardly projecting and lflaring walls forming an annular holding bead formed in the cap` while the cap is on5 the container and solely functioning under the shoulder of a container as the holding element of the cap, the lower inwardly projecting Haring wall being spaced laterally from the container and having greater length than the upper wall and terminating at its lower edge in a curled or reinforced portion spaced from said holding bead whereby a coin may be inserted for prying oi the cap and thereafter the cap 'readily snapped on, said skirt having a smooth and 85 catchup receptacle having a shoulder spaced remotely from the mouth formed portion thereof, a pry-olf and reusable metaly cap comprising a top and a depending skirt having a length at leastJ substantially as great as its diameter and havingat its lower edge a pre-formed*` annular curled or reinforced portion and having from its top to said curled edge a smooth and unbroken surface, and then while the cap is on the container insetting that part of the smooth skirt immediately abovesaid curled edge to form a pair of annular inwardly projecting flaring walls forming anannular holding bead functioning underthe shoulder of the container and independently of the curled edge as the sole holding element of the'cap, the

lower Haring wall being laterally spaced from the container neck whereby a coinnayY be inserted under the curled edge for pry--C` ing off the cap, the cap being readily re- 6o usable by subsequently snapping it on'. v

Signed at 1822 Park Row Building, New a York, New York, this 15th day of J anuary CHARLES HAMllIER. 

